Community system

ABSTRACT

The community system includes a hydrogen source, a hydrogen storage, an FC power generating facility, a hydrogen filler, a house group that uses electric power supplied from the FC power generating facility and hydrogen supplied from at least one of the hydrogen source and the hydrogen storage, and a management system that manages hydrogen in the community system. The hydrogen source is a hydrogen producing device that produces hydrogen using waste heat generated in a commercial and industrial installation or produces hydrogen from by-product gas produced in the commercial and industrial installation.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the priority based on Japanese PatentApplication No. 2018-175593 filed on Sep. 20, 2018, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates to a community system that uses hydrogen.

Related Art

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-74760 discloses acommunity system that supplies a house group with electric power using afuel cell.

Meanwhile, a community system allowing efficient use of hydrogen hasconventionally been desired.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a community systemthat uses hydrogen is provided. The community system comprises: ahydrogen source; a hydrogen storage storing hydrogen supplied from thehydrogen source; an FC power generating facility with a fuel cell thatgenerates electric power using hydrogen supplied from at least one ofthe hydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; a hydrogen filler thatfills a fuel cell vehicle with hydrogen supplied from at least one ofthe hydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; a house group withmultiple houses that use electric power supplied from the FC powergenerating facility and hydrogen supplied from at least one of thehydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; and a management system thatmanages hydrogen in the community system. The hydrogen source is ahydrogen producing device that produces hydrogen using waste heatgenerated in a commercial and industrial installation or produceshydrogen from by-product gas produced in the commercial and industrialinstallation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of a communitysystem according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a hydrogen productionmethod employed in an ammonia-hydrogen converting facility;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a function of an energymanagement system;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an example of a hydrogenmanagement database;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a hydrogen managementmethod employed in the community system;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of a communitysystem according to a different embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a construction method ofconstructing the community system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of a communitysystem according to an embodiment. This community system includes an FCpower generating facility 100, a house group 200 a, a house group 200 b,a house group 200 c, a house group 200 d, a hydrogen station 300, anenergy management system 400, a factory 500 with a hydrogen producingdevice, and an ammonia-hydrogen converting facility 600. The factory 500and the ammonia-hydrogen converting facility 600 are located in anindustrial area IA. The other facilities are located in a residentialarea RA. The residential area RA and the industrial area IA are usedistricts designated by a country or a municipality. This communitysystem constructs a community that uses hydrogen efficiently, and henceit may also be called a “hydrogen community,” a “hydrogen usingcommunity,” or a “hydrogen smart community.”

The FC power generating facility 100 includes a fuel cell system 110 anda secondary cell 120. The FC power generating facility 100 generateselectric power with the fuel cell system 110 using hydrogen and suppliesthe generated electric power to the outside. Further, the FC powergenerating facility 100 accumulates redundant electric power in thesecondary cell 120. The fuel cell system 110 is also simply called a“fuel cell.”

Each of the four house groups 200 a to 200 d shown in FIG. 1 is onehousing complex. The fourth house group 200 d is yet to be built and aplanned site for the house group 200 d is indicated by dashed lines.Regarding two house groups 200 a and 200 b out of the three existinghouse groups 200 a to 200 c, inner residential zones are illustrated.Regarding the remaining one house group 200 c, multiple roof-top solarpanels 250 are illustrated. The solar panels 250 are also installable onwall surfaces or windows. In the following description, the house groups200 a to 200 d will be called a “house group 200” collectively where thehouse groups 200 a to 200 d are not required to be distinguished fromeach other. Each house group 200 includes multiple houses 210, ahydrogen tank 220 as a hydrogen storage, and a secondary cell 230. Inthis embodiment, each house 210 is an apartment. Each house 210 isprovided with a fuel cell vehicle FCV as a standard facility. Each house210 is provided with a hydrogen supply nozzle 212 for filling the fuelcell vehicle FCV with hydrogen, and a hydrogen using facility 214 thatuses hydrogen. The hydrogen supply nozzle 212 may be provided to eachhouse 210. Alternatively, one or more hydrogen supply nozzles 212 commonto one house group 200 may be provided. The hydrogen supply nozzle 212is one type of hydrogen filler for filling the fuel cell vehicle FCVwith hydrogen.

The following appliances are applicable as the hydrogen using facility214, for example.

(1) A kitchen appliance that uses hydrogen gas.

(2) A hydrogen suction appliance used by a human for suction of hydrogengas.

(3) A hydrogen water using appliance that uses hydrogen water.

The kitchen appliance that uses hydrogen may be a hydrogen grill forcooking using hydrogen gas or a refrigerator in which the freshness ofvegetables is maintained with hydrogen gas supplied to a vegetablecompartment, for example. The hydrogen grill is a cooking appliance forroasting food materials by combusting hydrogen gas. By the use of thehydrogen grill, steam wraps around food materials to roast the foodmaterials with the steam. As a result, the food materials are roastedwith heat quickly to allow cooking of the food materials without lettingmoisture or flavors in the food materials get away. By doing so, itbecomes possible to maintain the textures or flavors of the foodmaterials as they are. The refrigerator that uses hydrogen gas makes useof the properties of hydrogen of achieving an anti-oxidation effect thatreduces active oxygen when hydrogen is used in the form of hydrogen gas.More specifically, the oxidation of vegetables is suppressed to maintainfreshness by spraying hydrogen gas on the vegetables.

The hydrogen suction appliance used by a human for suction of hydrogengas also makes use of the anti-oxidation effect of hydrogen. Morespecifically, when hydrogen gas is sucked into a human, active oxygen inthe body of the human is reduced. Active oxygen is known to have astrong oxidizing effect that oxidizes and damages DNA, causing arterialsclerosis, muscle weakness, or aging. Suction of hydrogen gas into ahuman allows reduction in the occurrences of such types of degradation.

The hydrogen water using appliance that uses hydrogen water may be ahydrogen water dispenser for generation and supply of hydrogen water fordrinking, a hydrogen bath, or a refrigerator in which the freshness ofvegetables is maintained with hydrogen water supplied to a vegetablecompartment, for example. These hydrogen water using appliances alsomake use of the anti-oxidation effect of hydrogen.

When hydrogen is supplied to the house group 200 in the form of liquidhydrogen, the hydrogen using facility 214 may be an air conditioner or arefrigerator using the latent heat of liquid hydrogen. Morespecifically, liquid hydrogen absorbs a large amount of latent heat whenit is vaporized. Using this latent heat allows cooling of a coolant inan air conditioner or a refrigerator. This achieves efficient use of thelatent heat of liquid hydrogen.

As described above, the hydrogen using facility 214 is installable invarious forms on the house 210 to allow use of hydrogen in variousforms. Further, the provision of the facilities 212 and 214 that usehydrogen in the house group 200 allows contribution to carbon reductionthrough use of hydrogen.

Each house 210 in the house group 200 is connected to the hydrogen tank220 provided to that house group 200 through a pipeline 240, andreceives supply of hydrogen through the pipeline 240. The pipeline 240connects the multiple house groups 200 to each other, and connects eachhouse group 200 and the FC power generating facility 100 to each other.For electric power supply, each house group 200 and the FC powergenerating facility 100 are connected to each other through a powertransmission line 260.

Hydrogen may pass through the pipeline 240 in various forms such ashydrogen gas, liquid hydrogen, methane produced from hydrogen gas, andmethylcyclohexane (MCH). These types of gas or liquid all function asfuel containing hydrogen and will be called “hydrogen-containing fuel”accordingly. In this specification, the term “hydrogen” is also used asa term meaning the hydrogen-containing fuel. The pipeline 240 isgenerally feasible as piping for passage of the hydrogen-containingfuel. Using methane as the hydrogen-containing fuel allows piping forcity gas to be used as the pipeline 240, making it possible to constructthe pipeline 240 easily. While not shown in the drawings, the pipeline240 is provided with various types of units prepared according to demandsuch as a valve, a pump, a compressor, a pressure accumulator, aconverter for the hydrogen-containing fuel, a pressure gage, athermometer, and a flow meter, for example.

The multiple solar panels 250 installed on the house group 200 include apower generating unit that generates electric power using sunlight, anda hydrogen producing unit that produces hydrogen via electrolysis ofwater using the electric power generated by the power generating unit.The electric power generated by the solar panels 250 may be consumed byelectrical appliances in the house group 200, or may be accumulated inthe secondary cell 230 in the house group 200 or the secondary cell 120of the FC power generating facility 100. The hydrogen produced by thesolar panels 250 may be consumed by the hydrogen using facility 214 inthe house group 200, or may be stored in the hydrogen tank 220 in thehouse group 200.

As described above, two energy forms, electric power and hydrogen, areavailable as energy using hydrogen. Energy in the form of electric poweris suitable for short-period keeping of the energy, and energy in theform of hydrogen is suitable for long-period keeping of the energy. Thereason for this is as follows. Electric power is more easily availableand thus more suitable for short-period keeping than hydrogen. Hydrogenhas less loss during keeping and is thus more suitable for long-timekeeping than electric power. The energy management system 400 preferablyperforms proper management on the keeping of energy in the form ofelectric power and in the form of hydrogen in consideration of suchcharacteristics of electric power and hydrogen and in consideration ofelectric power demand and hydrogen demand.

The amount of electric power and the amount of hydrogen generated andproduced by the multiple solar panels 250 in the house group 200 areallocated to the multiple houses 210 in that house group 200. Forexample, the amount of hydrogen produced by the multiple solar panels250 in one house group 200 may be allocated uniformly to the multiplehouses 210 belonging to that house group 200, or may be allocated inresponse to an area occupied by each house 210. The amount of producedhydrogen allocated to each house 210 increases hydrogen possession atthat house 210. The amount of hydrogen used by the hydrogen usingfacility 214 or the hydrogen supply nozzle 212 in each house 210 reduceshydrogen possession at that house 210. The energy management system 400is responsible for management of such hydrogen possession. Electricpower generated by the solar panels 250 is managed in the same way. Asdescribed above, the provision of the hydrogen tank 220 and the solarpanels 250 in the house group 200 makes the house group 200 itselfavailable as a hydrogen buffer to allow efficiency increase in the useof hydrogen. This applies to electric power in the same way.

One hydrogen tank 220 as a hydrogen storage may be provided in one housegroup 200. In this case, hydrogen possession at each house 210 in thathouse group 200 is stored in one hydrogen tank 220 in that house group200. By doing so, hydrogen possession at each house 210 in the housegroup 200 is to be stored in one hydrogen tank 220 in that house group200, making it possible to manage hydrogen possession at each house 210easily. Alternatively, one house group 200 may be provided with multiplehydrogen tanks 220 allocated to corresponding houses 210 in that housegroup 200, and hydrogen possession at each house 210 in that house group200 may be stored in the hydrogen tank 220 allocated to that house 210.By doing so, hydrogen possession at each house 210 is to be stored inthe hydrogen tank 220 allocated to that house 210, making it possible tomanage hydrogen possession at each house 210 easily.

In the illustration of FIG. 1, the three existing house groups 200 a to200 c are arranged around the FC power generating facility 100, and aplanned site for the one house group 200 d to be built additionally isreserved. Such arrangement of the multiple house groups 200 a to 200 daround the one FC power generating facility 100 allows sharing of theone FC power generating facility 100 among the multiple house groups 200a to 200 d. This makes it possible to increase efficiency in the use ofthe FC power generating facility 100, while making it possible toincrease efficiency in the use of hydrogen. In particular, locating theFC power generating facility 100 at a substantially central positionamong the multiple house groups 200 a to 200 d realizes an arrangementin which the FC power generating facility 100 is easily available forthe multiple house groups 200 a to 200 d. Further, this arrangementallows an increase in equipment efficiency, compared to an arrangementin which the FC power generating facility 100 is provided for each housegroup 200. The arrangement of the FC power generating facility 100 andthe multiple house groups 200 will be described again in detail in adifferent embodiment described later.

The hydrogen station 300 includes a hydrogen tank 320 as a hydrogenstorage, and a hydrogen dispenser 310 for filling the fuel cell vehicleFCV with hydrogen. The hydrogen tank 320 is connected through thepipeline 240 to the multiple house groups 200, to the factory 500 with ahydrogen producing device 510, and to the ammonia-hydrogen convertingfacility 600. The hydrogen dispenser 310 is one type of hydrogen fillerfor filling the fuel cell vehicle FCV with hydrogen.

The fuel cell vehicle FCV is preferably a large-sized vehicle such as abus located in the community. The large-sized fuel cell vehicle FCVincludes a hydrogen tank of a large capacity and produces a large outputfrom a fuel cell, and is hence used effectively as a hydrogen source ora power source at a time of disaster. In order to function as a powersupply, the fuel cell vehicle FCV is preferably provided with anexternal power feeder for supplying electric power to the outside. Thefuel cell vehicle FCV is particularly preferably located at a publicinstallation such as a public office, a hospital, or a school in thecommunity. This makes it possible to offer a hydrogen source or a powersource promptly to the public installation at the time of disaster.

The energy management system 400 has the function of managing hydrogenand electric power in the community system shown in FIG. 1. Formanagement of hydrogen and electric power, the energy management system400 communicates with the other facilities 100, 200, 300, 500, and 600in the community system. In the illustration of FIG. 1, thecommunication between the energy management system 400 and the otherfacilities 100, 200, 300, 500, and 600 is radio communication.Alternatively, the communication may be made through wires partially orentirely. An example of management of hydrogen and electric power by theenergy management system 400 will be described in more detail later.Electric power may be managed by a different system.

The factory 500 includes the hydrogen producing device 510, and ahydrogen tank 520 as a hydrogen storage. The hydrogen producing device510 is a device that produces hydrogen using waste heat in the factory500, for example. Alternatively, the hydrogen producing device 510 maybe configured as a device that separates hydrogen from by-product gasproduced through a steelmaking process or a chemical process performedin the factory 500. The hydrogen tank 520 in the factory 500 isconnected to the pipeline 240. Making the hydrogen producing device 510produce hydrogen using waste heat in the factory 500 and using theproduced hydrogen in the community system allows effective use of thewaste heat in the factory 500, making it possible to increase efficiencyin the use of hydrogen and energy in the community system. Thissimilarly applies to the case of using hydrogen in by-product gases fromthe factory 500.

A process of producing hydrogen in the factory 500 to be used in thecommunity may be performed in a shutdown period of the factory 500. Thisallows efficient use of waste heat or by-product hydrogen in theshut-down period of the factory 500. Hydrogen may be produced in thisway not only in the factory 500 but also in a different commercial andindustrial installation. The “commercial and industrial installation”mentioned herein has a wide meaning covering a commercial installationand an industrial installation. The hydrogen producing device 510 in thefactory 500 corresponds to a hydrogen producing device that produceshydrogen using waste heat generated in a commercial and industrialinstallation or produces hydrogen from by-product gas produced in thecommercial and industrial installation. Using the hydrogen producingdevice 510 in this way allows effective use of waste heat or by-productgas in the commercial and industrial installation, making it possible toincrease efficiency in the use of hydrogen and energy in the communitysystem.

The ammonia-hydrogen converting facility 600 includes an ammonia tank610, a hydrogen tank 620, and an ammonia-hydrogen converter 630. Theammonia tank 610 stores ammonia supplied from an ammonia transportvessel ATV staying at a harbor PT, for example. The ammonia transportvessel ATV transports ammonia imported from a foreign country, forexample, to the harbor PT. Ammonia may be transported from the ammoniatransport vessel ATV to the ammonia tank 610 using a tank truck.However, using a pipeline achieves the transport more easily. If thetank truck is used for transporting ammonia, the ammonia-hydrogenconverting facility 600 is not required to be arranged at the harbor PT.Meanwhile, due to the strongly irritating odor of ammonia, theammonia-hydrogen converting facility 600 is preferably arranged awayfrom the house group 200 as much as possible.

The decomposition of ammonia in an ammonia-hydrogen converting processrequires a heat source as it is an endothermic reaction. Thus, heatresulting from combustion of ammonia is generally used as the heatsource. Alternatively, waste heat from the factory 500 may be used asthe heat source in the ammonia-hydrogen converting process. In thiscase, piping for carrying a waste heat supply medium is preferablyplaced between the factory 500 and the ammonia-hydrogen convertingfacility 600, because it allows production of hydrogen through theeffective use of the waste heat in the community system.

Hydrogen produced by the ammonia-hydrogen converter 630 is accumulatedin the hydrogen tank 620. The hydrogen tank 620 is connected to thepipeline 240. In other words, hydrogen produced by the ammonia-hydrogenconverter 630 is supplied to other facilities in the community systemthrough the pipeline 240.

The ammonia-hydrogen converter 630 may supply the pipeline 240 with amixed gas of hydrogen including ammonia. Generally, ammonia of a certainamount is left after the ammonia decomposing process performed by theammonia-hydrogen converter 630. In this regard, to increase the purityof hydrogen, an ammonia removing process is generally performed afterthe ammonia decomposing process. In this ammonia removing process,adjusting a process parameter so as to leave a tiny amount of ammoniaunremoved allows for preparation of the mixed gas containing the tinyamount of ammonia mixed into hydrogen. This mixed gas is prepared by asimple method of controlling the ammonia removing process performed bythe ammonia-hydrogen converter 630, making it possible to prepare thehydrogen-ammonia mixed gas easily. In preparation for supply of thehydrogen-ammonia mixed gas through the pipeline 240, ammonia ispreferably removed from the mixed gas with an ammonia filter, forexample, before a hydrogen using facility in the community system useshydrogen supplied through the pipeline 240.

An ammonia concentration in the mixed gas is preferably set in a rangeof 2 ppm or more and 100 ppm or less, for example, and preferably in arange of 2 ppm or more and 50 ppm or less. The ammonia concentration of2 ppm is at a level at which the odor of ammonia is detectablesufficiently and easily by a human. The ammonia concentration of 50 ppmis at a level at which the odor of ammonia is emitted strongly. Theammonia concentration of 100 ppm is at a level at which the odor ofammonia is emitted more strongly but the toxicity of ammonia does notcause an excessively adverse effect to a human body. In consideration ofthese, setting a lower limit of the ammonia concentration at 2 ppm makesthe odor of ammonia detectable by a human in the case of leakage of themixed gas, thereby facilitating detection of leakage of the mixed gas.Setting an upper limit of the ammonia concentration at 100 ppm may causeemission of a strong odor of ammonia in the case of leakage of the mixedgas. However, ammonia at this concentration is not so high as to causean excessively adverse effect to a human body due to the toxicity ofammonia. To emit the odor of ammonia sufficiently while the ammoniaconcentration is controlled at a sufficiently low level, the ammoniaconcentration is still preferably set in a range of 2 ppm or more and 50ppm or less.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a hydrogen productionmethod employed in the ammonia-hydrogen converting facility 600. First,in step S110, ammonia is transported to the ammonia-hydrogen convertingfacility 600. The ammonia may be transported using a tank truck orthrough a pipeline. In step S120, the ammonia-hydrogen converter 630performs the ammonia decomposing process to produce hydrogen. In stepS130, the ammonia-hydrogen converter 630 performs the ammonia removingprocess. In this process, an ammonia concentration may be set in theforegoing preferable range. In step S140, the produced hydrogen or mixedgas is supplied to a different facility in the community system throughthe pipeline 240. According to this hydrogen production method, hydrogenis produced from ammonia in the industrial area IA suitable for handlingammonia and the produced hydrogen is available in the community system.

In FIG. 1, facilities provided as the hydrogen source include the solarpanels 250 installed on the house group 200, the hydrogen producingdevice 510 in the factory 500, and the ammonia-hydrogen converter 630.The community system may include only one of these hydrogen sources.Facilities provided as the hydrogen storage include the hydrogen tank220 in the house group 200, the hydrogen tank 320 in the hydrogenstation 300, the hydrogen tank 520 in the factory 500, and the hydrogentank 620 in the ammonia-hydrogen converting facility 600. The communitysystem may include only one hydrogen storage. The pipeline 240 may beconfigured to be used for supplying hydrogen from at least one of thehydrogen source and the hydrogen storage to the FC power generatingfacility 100, the hydrogen station 300, and the house group 200.

As described above, the community system shown in FIG. 1 includes thehydrogen source such as the solar panels 250, the hydrogen storage suchas the hydrogen tank 220, and various types of facilities that usehydrogen. Further, the energy management system 400 manages hydrogen inthe community system. This enables hydrogen to be used smoothly toencourage higher efficiency in the use of hydrogen. In particular,connecting these facilities to each other through the pipeline 240allows efficiency increase in the use of hydrogen to a greater extent.Additionally, the provision of the solar panels 250 for production ofhydrogen using sunlight and the hydrogen tank 220 as the hydrogenstorage in the house group 200 allows the house group 200 to function asa hydrogen buffer in which hydrogen is accumulated or from whichhydrogen is released in response to a status of use of hydrogen.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the function of the energymanagement system 400. The energy management system 400 includes amanagement device 410, a management database 420, and a radiocommunication device 430. The management device 410 is realized by acomputer including a processor and a memory, for example. The managementdatabase 420 is a database for management of hydrogen and electric powerin the community system. The radio communication device 430 performsradio communications with a different facility in the community systemto receive energy balance information including the amount of usedhydrogen and the amount of used electric power, and the amount ofproduced hydrogen and the amount of produced electric power at eachfacility. The management device 410 updates the management database 420using the received energy balance information to manage hydrogen andelectric power.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an example of a hydrogenmanagement database HMD registered in the management database 420.Multiple records are registered in the hydrogen management database HMD.One record contains a house ID, a current hydrogen residual amount V1, alast-month-end hydrogen residual amount V2, a hydrogen production amountV3, a hydrogen consumption amount V4, a hydrogen purchase amount V5, anda hydrogen sale amount V6. The house ID is an ID for identifying eachhouse 210 in the house group 200.

The pieces of information V1 to V6 about hydrogen amounts are related toeach other as follows:V1=V2+V3+V4+V5+V6  (1)

The pieces of information V1 to V6 about hydrogen amounts have thefollowing meanings:

(1) Current hydrogen residual amount V1

The current hydrogen residual amount V1 is hydrogen possession at acorresponding house 210 at the present time.

(2) Last-month-end hydrogen residual amount V2

The last-month-end hydrogen residual amount V2 is hydrogen possession atthe corresponding house 210 at the end of the last month.

(3) Hydrogen production amount V3

The hydrogen production amount V3 is an increase in hydrogen possessionat the corresponding house 210 in a period from the beginning of thecurrent month to the present time. For example, the hydrogen productionamount V3 is an amount allocated to the corresponding house 210 out ofthe amount of hydrogen produced by the solar panels 250 as a hydrogenproducing device in the house group 200 including the correspondinghouse 210. In each house group 200, allocation information indicating away of allocating the amount of hydrogen produced by the solar panels250 in that house group 200 to each house 210 is set in advance in themanagement database 420.

(4) Hydrogen consumption amount V4

The hydrogen consumption amount V4 is the amount of hydrogen consumed bythe corresponding house 210 in the period from the beginning of thecurrent month to the present time. The hydrogen consumption amount V4 isthe sum of the amount of hydrogen consumed through the hydrogen supplynozzle 212 and the amount of hydrogen consumed by the hydrogen usingfacility 214 at the corresponding house 210.

(5) Hydrogen purchase amount V5

The hydrogen purchase amount V5 is the amount of hydrogen purchased fromthe outside by the corresponding house 210 in the period from thebeginning of the current month to the present time.

(6) Hydrogen sale amount V6

The hydrogen sale amount V6 is the amount of hydrogen sold to theoutside by the corresponding house 210 in the period from the beginningof the current month to the present time. A difference between thehydrogen sale amount V6 and the hydrogen purchase amount V5 (V6−V5)corresponds to a hydrogen transfer amount transferred from each house210.

Each house 210 may purchase or sell hydrogen using a management deviceprovided at each house 210, or using an application program installed bya resident of each house 210 on a smartphone or a personal computer.

The energy management system 400 updates the current hydrogen residualamount V1 corresponding to hydrogen possession at each house 210 usingthe amount of produced hydrogen or consumed hydrogen, thereby allowingmanagement of increase or decrease in hydrogen at each house 210. Theenergy management system 400 reflects, in the current hydrogen residualamount V1 corresponding to hydrogen possession at each house 210, ahydrogen transfer amount (V6−V5) transferred from the same house 210,making it possible to facilitate use of hydrogen at each house 210 to agreater extent. When hydrogen is transferred from one house 210,hydrogen of the amount of the transfer (V6−V5) may actually be moved tothe hydrogen tank 220 provided in the house group 200 including thathouse 210, or only a hydrogen ownership may be handed over withoutactually moving hydrogen. Each of these ways allows efficient use ofhydrogen in the community system.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a hydrogen managementmethod performed in the energy management system 400. The procedure inFIG. 5 is performed repeatedly at certain time intervals, for example.In step S210, the management device 410 acquires the pieces ofinformation V2 to V6 about hydrogen amounts at each house 210. Some ofthese pieces of information V2 to V6 about hydrogen amounts may beacquired by being read from the management database 420. The other ofthe pieces of information V2 to V6 about hydrogen amounts may beacquired from a management device provided at each house 210. In stepS220, the management device 410 calculates the current hydrogen residualamount V1 from the acquired pieces of information V2 to V6 abouthydrogen amounts. Further, the management device 410 updates themanagement database 420 using these pieces of information V1 to V6 abouthydrogen amounts. In step S230, in response to the hydrogen purchaseamount V5 or the hydrogen sale amount. V6 corresponding to a hydrogentransfer amount, hydrogen is actually moved to the hydrogen tank 220, oronly a hydrogen ownership is handed over without actually movinghydrogen. According to this hydrogen management method, the amount ofhydrogen transfer from each house 210 is reflected in hydrogenpossession at the same house 210, making it possible to facilitate useof hydrogen at each house 210 to a greater extent.

A hydrogen amount may be managed in a similar way to that shown in FIGS.4 and 5 not only for the house 210 but also for a different facilitythat performs at least one of the production and consumption ofhydrogen. More specifically, the energy management system 400 may managea hydrogen amount for the FC power generating facility 100, the hydrogenstation 300, the factory 500, and the ammonia-hydrogen convertingfacility 600, for example. Further, the energy management system 400 maymanage not only a hydrogen amount but also an electric power amount in asimilar way to that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 for the house 210 or eachfacility.

As described above, the energy management system 400 adjusts productionand consumption of hydrogen and electric power in the community system,thereby allowing hydrogen and electric power to be used smoothly,allowing efficiency increase in the use of hydrogen and electric power,and allowing contribution to carbon reduction. Further, the provision ofthe solar panels 250 as a hydrogen producing device and the hydrogentank 220 in the house group 200 itself allows the house group 200 tofunction as a buffer for hydrogen and electricity.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of a communitysystem according to a different embodiment. This community systemdiffers from that shown in FIG. 1 only in the following two points. Theconfiguration of the community system of FIG. 6 is the same in otherrespects as that of FIG. 1.

(1) The house groups 200 a to 200 d in the community system of FIG. 1are changed to a house group 200 e, a house group 200 f, a house group200 g, and a house group 200 h.

(2) The FC power generating facility 100 is buried underground.

Each of the house groups 200 e to 200 h in FIG. 6 is not a housingcomplex but is a group of detached houses 210. At least some of themultiple houses 210 forming each house group 200 are provided with thesolar panels 250. While not shown in the drawings, at least some of themultiple houses 210 may be provided with the hydrogen using facility 214or the hydrogen supply nozzle 212 described by referring to FIG. 1. Likein the community system of FIG. 1, each house group 200 is provided withthe hydrogen tank 220 and the secondary cell 230. The community systemshown in FIG. 6 has substantially the same configuration and achievessubstantially the same effect as the community system shown in FIG. 1.

In the community system of FIG. 6, the FC power generating facility 100is buried underground. A land surface above the FC power generatingfacility 100 is available as a facility for residents of the multiplehouse groups 200 such as a playground, an assembly hall, or a parkinglot. In this case, the pipeline 240 and the power transmission line 260are also preferably buried underground. Regarding a planned site for thehouse group 200 h to be additionally built, the pipeline 240 and thepower transmission line 260 for connecting the house group 200 h and theFC power generating facility 100 are preferably buried underground inadvance, or underground conduits are preferably prepared for routing ofthe pipeline 240 and the power transmission line 260.

In the community system shown in FIG. 6, the FC power generatingfacility 100 is located at a position facing all the multiple housegroups 200 e to 200 h. In other words, the FC power generating facility100 is located at a position facing all the plurality of house groups200 e to 200 g, or a position facing all the plurality of house groups200 e to 200 g and the planned site where the new house group 200 h isto be built. This achieves an arrangement in which the FC powergenerating facility 100 is easily available for the multiple housegroups 200 e to 200 h. This arrangement further allows an increase inequipment efficiency, compared to an arrangement in which the FC powergenerating facility 100 is provided for each house group 200. The FCpower generating facility 100 is still preferably located at asubstantially central position among the multiple existing house groups200 e to 200 g, or a substantially central position among the multipleexisting house groups 200 e to 200 g and the planned site where the newhouse group 200 h is to be built. By doing so, the FC power generatingfacility 100 becomes more easily available for the multiple house groups200 e to 200 h. “Locating the FC power generating facility 100 at asubstantially central position among the multiple existing house groups200 e to 200 g” means that, assuming that an average of distances fromthe multiple house group 200 e to 200 g to the FC power generatingfacility 100 is 100%, a distance from each house group 200 to the FCpower generating facility 100 is within a range of 100% plus or minus20%. A distance from one existing house group 200 to the FC powergenerating facility 100 means the shortest distance in a plan view fromone house 210 among the multiple houses 210 belonging to that housegroup 200 and nearest the FC power generating facility 100, up to the FCpower generating facility 100. A distance from the planned site wherethe new house group 200 h is to be built to the FC power generatingfacility 100 means the shortest distance in a plan view from acircumscribed rectangle on that planned site to the FC power generatingfacility 100. These features and preferable configurations also apply tothe community system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a construction method ofconstructing the community system. In step S310, a plan is made for thearrangement of facilities in the community system including the housegroups 200, the FC power generating facility 100, the hydrogen station300, the energy management system 400, etc. In this step, as has beendescribed by referring to FIG. 6, the FC power generating facility 100is preferably located at a position facing all the multiple house groups200 e to 200 h. This also applies to the illustration of FIG. 1, so thatthe FC power generating facility 100 is preferably located at a positionfacing all the multiple house groups 200 a to 200 d. In step S320, aplan is made for the arrangement of the pipeline 240, the powertransmission line 260, etc. In step S330, each facility is built byfollowing the arrangement plans made in steps S310 and S320. Accordingto this construction method, the FC power generating facility 100 islocated at a position facing all the multiple house groups 200, so thatthe resultant arrangement makes the FC power generating facility 100easily available for the multiple house groups 200. Further, thisarrangement allows an increase in equipment efficiency, compared to anarrangement in which the FC power generating facility 100 is providedfor each house group 200.

The community system according to each of the foregoing embodimentsincludes the FC power generating facility 100, the house group 200, thehydrogen filler such as the hydrogen station 300, the energy managementsystem 400, and the facilities 500 and 600 each including the hydrogenproducing device. This allows construction of a local system achievingefficient use of hydrogen and electric power by means of relativelysmall investment on an area to cover the community system. As a result,the value of this community system as a brand rises to bring asignificant advantage to that area and residents in that area. Further,this community system uses hydrogen and solar energy as main energysources, making it possible to provide CO₂-free life to the residents.Each house 210 in the house group 200 is provided with the fuel cellvehicle FCV as a standard facility, making it possible to provide theresidents with CO₂-free mobility. Meanwhile, some of the installationsor facilities described in each of the embodiments are omissible.

(1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a communitysystem that uses hydrogen is provided. The community system comprises: ahydrogen source; a hydrogen storage storing hydrogen supplied from thehydrogen source; an FC power generating facility with a fuel cell thatgenerates electric power using hydrogen supplied from at least one ofthe hydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; a hydrogen filler thatfills a fuel cell vehicle with hydrogen supplied from at least one ofthe hydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; a house group withmultiple houses that use electric power supplied from the FC powergenerating facility and hydrogen supplied from at least one of thehydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; and a management system thatmanages hydrogen in the community system. The hydrogen source is ahydrogen producing device that produces hydrogen using waste heatgenerated in a commercial and industrial installation or produceshydrogen from by-product gas produced in the commercial and industrialinstallation.

This community system includes the hydrogen source, the hydrogenstorage, and various types of facilities that use hydrogen. Further, themanagement system manages hydrogen in the community system. This enableshydrogen to be used smoothly to encourage higher efficiency in the useof hydrogen. Additionally, because the hydrogen source is the hydrogenproducing device that produces hydrogen from waste heat or by-productgas produced in the commercial and industrial installation, the wasteheat or by-product gas in the commercial and industrial installation isused effectively, making it possible to increase efficiency in the useof hydrogen and energy in the community system.

(2) In the foregoing community system, the hydrogen source may producehydrogen in a shutdown period of the commercial and industrialinstallation.

In this community system, because hydrogen is produced in the shutdownperiod of the commercial and industrial installation, it becomespossible to efficiently use waste heat or by-product hydrogen producedin the shut-down period.

The present disclosure is feasible in various aspects such as acommunity system, a management device and a management method formanaging the community system, a construction method of constructing thecommunity system, and a hydrogen production method employed in thecommunity system, for example.

The disclosure is not limited to any of the embodiment and itsmodifications described above but may be implemented by a diversity ofconfigurations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Forexample, the technical features of any of the above embodiments andtheir modifications may be replaced or combined appropriately, in orderto solve part or all of the problems described above or in order toachieve part or all of the advantageous effects described above. Any ofthe technical features may be omitted appropriately unless the technicalfeature is described as essential in the description hereof. The presentdisclosure may be implemented by aspects described below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A community system that uses hydrogen,comprising: a hydrogen source; a hydrogen storage storing hydrogensupplied from the hydrogen source; an FC power generating facility witha fuel cell that generates electric power using hydrogen supplied fromat least one of the hydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; a hydrogenfiller that fills a fuel cell vehicle with hydrogen supplied from atleast one of the hydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; a house groupwith multiple houses that use electric power supplied from the FC powergenerating facility and hydrogen supplied from at least one of thehydrogen source and the hydrogen storage; and a management system thatmanages hydrogen in the community system, wherein the hydrogen source isa hydrogen producing device that produces hydrogen using waste heatgenerated in a commercial and industrial installation or produceshydrogen from by-product gas produced in the commercial and industrialinstallation.
 2. The community system according to claim 1, wherein thehydrogen source produces hydrogen in a shutdown period of the commercialand industrial installation.